e-man

Hey guys. Just stopping by from over on the GS forum. My wife currently has a 2002 Acura MDX with 66,000 miles. We bought the car new in March of 2002, so we've had it for 5 years. She has decided that she wants the GX for her next car, and we're trying to decide whether we should wait for the new model (which I believe is coming out in 2008 as a 2009 model, right?).

A couple of factors to consider. Although I'm a firm believer in buying pre-owned cars, my wife will have no part of it. So, it's either new or nothing for her. Also, after seeing the various problems with the 2007 ES350, I'm hesitant to buy a new car (even if it's a Lexus) in its first model year. If the new GX does come out in 08 as an 09 model, realistically we're looking at the Fall of 2009 to buy a 2010 model. Lastly, we put about 15,000 miles per year on the Acura, so the Acura will pass 90,000 miles in less than 2 years, and we'll be faced with a costly 90k maintenance. If we're getting rid of the car, I'd rather trade it in and spend that money towards a new GX.

So, the question is whether we should trade the Acura later this year on a new late production 2007 model or whether we should hold onto the Acura, do the 90k service, and buy the new model a year or more after it comes out.

Thoughts?

LexFather

For the new model, I don't have much info except it will be larger, it will lose its side swinging door and it will get the new 5.7 liter V-8.

The G Man

I would go for the 07 GX. There is no definite word on the re-design GX yet. 2009 was supposed to be the year when the 4Runner / GX will be re-design. That was before Toyota and Lexus experience all the quality problems the last few years. The CEO of Toyota has stated that Toyota will slow down its design cycle to address all these quality issues. So the re-deign of the 09 GX may be push back a year or two. I traded in my 03 MDX last year for the GX, what a big difference. Built quality between the two SUV is like night and day. I had a alot of problems with my MDX, such as brake clunk, transmission skipping, sloahing gas tank, rattles everywhere, driver seat shifting and the muffler drone just to mentioned a few. If your MDX is anything like mine, waiting 3 more years is not a good option.

antonio98

Two to three years is a pretty long time to wait. If your wife likes the current model GX, I would go ahead and get it.

This body style has been around for a while, but it still looks current inside and out.

Antonio.

cmarshack

I have to agree with Antonio with this one. Make your wife happy now...buy her a new 06 if you can track one down on a Lexus lot. You should be able to get a smokin deal. Then when the 09 does come out you should be able to sell it without taking too big of depreciation hit. Now if your wife knew that she would be getting a brand new 09 in a couple of years then maybe she would let you buy her an 05 with very low miles...then your depreciation hit would be even less.

e-man

I have to say that our MDX has been a great car. No problems at all (knock wood). I think we have the sloshing gas tank syndrome (particularly when going over speed bumps), and definitely some rattles, but that's about it. You make a good point about the uncertainty of the release date. The last thing I want to do is wait so long where it gets to the point that I'll need to spend a lot of money to keep the MDX going. It's fine for the next 2 years, but past that, things most likely will start to wear out or break.

That's her biggest concern. She doesn't want to buy a brand new car and then have it look dated after a year or two. I tend to agree with you that the GX still looks current even though it basically looks the same as it did when it came out in September of 2002 as an 03 model. Then again, though, it's definitely nearing the end of its cycle and even if it's not completely revamped, there must be some changes on the horizon in the not-so-distant future.

A new 06 is a great idea. Believe it or not, she wouldn't consider an 05 with very low miles. Unlike me, when she buys a car, she wants to be the first one to drive/own it. It's not that she feels she's buying someone else's problems, but she wants it to be hers and only hers from the beginning. To each his (or her) own, I guess.

Thanks for all the input guys. If anyone else has further thoughts, I'd love to hear them.

e

V8_Fan

Late '09 is a long time to wait. Since you already have 66K on the MDX, it's already taken its major hit in depreciation. The time to have sold it is either before the warranty runs out, and nthen before 60k mi or whatever the limit Acura sets as the max where you can buy the factory extended warranty at a realistic price (60K for the Lexus). Basically every 10K mile threshold you hit, the trade-in of the car tumbles. You don't lose trade-in value according to the blue book if you trade in at, say, 59.9K mi vs 51K mi. At least it's this way w/ the LC/LX. You can plug a few numbers to get an idea. I figured out the PO of my LX, who leased it, did some smart things. First, he bought the next year's model late the prev. year, so the residual is higher I think. Next, he traded at just below 50K mi, just before the factory warranty runs out and just before the 50K threshold causes trade-in to tumble a couple of grand.

SilverLady

I'm with your wife on the new car thing. I'd rather buy what I can afford new than a more expensive vehicle that somebody else had. I'm sure there is some psychological factor involved from some of the junky cars I grew up with, but that is just the way it is.

If she likes the current GX, there is no guarentee the new one will be her choice - plus you rightly point out that new model years have their shakedown periods. Gas prices look like they are inching up again, which should lead to good deals at the dealer for GXs on the lot.

I wish we could look into a crystal ball for you...